Islamabad, June 1(ANI): Journalists in Pakistan are between a rock and a hard place as they face threats both from militants and the country's intelligence agencies, resulting in harassment, abduction and even murder, an editorial in a Pakistani newspaper has said.
Syed Saleem Shahzad, one of Pakistan's best investigative journalists, went missing on May 29 from Islamabad while on his way to a local television channel to participate in a talk show.
The body of Shahzad, Pakistan bureau chief of Asia Times Online, was found yesterday in a canal in Mandi Bahauddin area of the Punjab province.
According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), Shahzad, whose last story for Asia Times Online revealed how al Qaeda had penetrated the Pakistan Navy, had voiced his concerns that a sensitive intelligence agency could harm him.
"It is a sad day, nay black day, for journalism in Pakistan that a journalist was picked up from the capital and his tortured body dumped in another town while the perpetrators of this gory crime roam free. This is not the first time that a journalist has lost his life for honest reporting," the Daily Times editorial said.
"In the past we have been witness to the deaths of many brave journalists in Pakistan, especially in Balochistan, FATA and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa," it said, adding that it is not without reason that the 'Reporters without Borders' organisation has dubbed Pakistan as the most dangerous place for journalists.
"Journalists in Pakistan are between a rock and a hard place: they face threats both from the militants and our intelligence agencies. When journalists write or speak against terrorists, they receive threats. When they expose our military's links with terrorists, they are harassed. Threats, harassment, abduction and even murder is what journalists in Pakistan are victims of all too frequently," the editorial said.
It noted that Shahzad's brutal murder seems like a warning to Pakistan's journalist community that if they continue to report honestly, they can be killed.
"If the people of Pakistan, especially the media community, does not wake up and speak out against such brutalities, every sane voice in the country will die a silent death. If we remain quiet, this will be our own self-inflicted Holocaust," it added.
The editorial said that this incident should also "serve as an eye-opener for those who have been apologising for the military and the Taliban alike."
"How many more innocents have to die before we realise that our country is a war zone where no one is safe from either our so-called saviours or the terrorists. Shahzad and many others like him paid the price for reporting the truth," it maintained.
Pakistan must stop blaming external forces for what it is facing right now, the editorial said, pointing out that in a country where terrorists, murderers, rapists and criminals roam free, deaths of innocents are all but inevitable. (ANI)
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